Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Method for disintegrating an elastomer and
disintegrator
The present invention relates to a method for
disintegrating an elastomer and to a disintegrator for
disintegrating an elastomer, with the aid of which an
elastomeric item, in particular an elastomer strand
produced from chloroprene rubber, can be disintegrated
into slices that are as thin as possible, in order that
the disintegrated elastomer has a surface area that is
as large as possible, if for example it is to be
dissolved in a solvent, in order for example to produce
an adhesive.
It is known to disintegrate an elastomer with the aid
of a disintegrator, in which the elastomer is moved
with the aid of an advancing device over a base to a
cutting tool in the form of a peripheral miller, so
that the cutting tool can cut off individual slices
from the elastomer with the aid of a cutting wedge. A
disadvantage of such a disintegrator and such a method
for disintegrating an elastomer is that the elastomer
can deform when the cutting wedge is in contact with
the elastomer, whereby the elastomer may evade the
cutting edge of the cutting wedge. This has the effect
that a certain minimum thickness has to be provided for
the slices that are cut off, in order that a properly
planned disintegration of the elastomer can be achieved
at all. In the case of a twisted elastomer strand, a
minimum thickness of about 1.8 to 2.2 mm is therefore
required.
There is a constant need for disintegrating elastomers
into pieces that are as small, and in particular thin,
as possible without great effort, in order that for
example a specific surface area, that is to say outer
area per unit of weight, that is as large as possible
can be achieved for subsequent processes. The large
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specific surface area allows the elastomer to be
dissolved quickly in a solvent, in order in particular
to produce an elastomer-based adhesive.
It is the object of the invention to provide a method
for disintegrating an elastomer and a disintegrator for
disintegrating an elastomer with the aid of which the
specific surface area can be increased for the
disintegrated elastomer, and in particular the layer
thickness of chips and/or slices that are cut off can
be reduced.
The object is achieved according to the invention by a
method for disintegrating an elastomer with the
features of claim 1 and a disintegrator for
disintegrating an elastomer with the features of claim
12.
In the case of the method according to the invention
for disintegrating an elastomer, in particular at least
one elastomer strand, the elastomer is moved in
relation to a cutting tool over a base toward the
cutting tool, the cutting tool having a cutting wedge
with a cutting edge and a rake face adjoining the
cutting edge. According to the invention, once the
cutting wedge comes into contact with the elastomer,
the elastomer is intially at least partially compressed
only by the rake face between the rake face and the
base, before the cutting edge cuts through the
elastomer.
The movement of the cutting wedge of the cutting tool
takes place in relation to the elastomer in a way that
initially avoids linear contact of the cutting edge
with the elastomer, and instead there is surface-area
contact of the rake face with the elastomer. The
surface-area contact of the rake face with the
elastomer has the effect that the force of the cutting
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wedge acting on the elastomer is initially distributed
over the relatively large rake face, so that initially
a low force per unit area acts on the elastomer in
comparison with a linear contact via the cutting edge.
This avoids spontaneous evasion of the elastomer. At
the same time, the force per unit area gradually
increases during the further movement of the cutting
wedge, but the larger area causes a higher frictional
force between the cutting wedge and the elastomer to be
achieved in comparison with a force applied linearly
via the cutting edge. The higher friction avoids the
possibility that the elastomer can move flexibly away
from the cutting wedge due to stretching effects under
the increasing loading. Only at a later point in time
when the elastomer has been sufficiently compressed by
the rake face between the rake face and the base can
the cutting wedge roll on the elastomer in such a way
that substantially only the cutting edge of the cutting
wedge is in contact with the elastomer, whereby part of
the elastomer can be cut off by the cutting wedge on
account of the high shearing forces at the cutting
edge. The cutting off of the elastomer may in this case
take place after an initial holding by way of
compressing and/or clamping of the elastomer between
the rake face and the base by means of wedge cutting or
knife cutting, in particular by single-edged wedge
cutting on an anvil, it being possible for the single-
side wedge cutting edge to be formed by the cutting
edge of the cutting wedge and the anvil to be formed by
the base. As a result, in a state in which it has
elastically flipped up high from the base, the
elastomer strand can be captured by the rake face on
the flat rear side of the cutting wedge, then be
pressed against the base and, in a position in which
the elastomer strand can substantially no longer
elastically evade it, be cut by rolling of the cutting
edge on the partially compressed elastomer strand and
moving of the cutting wedge through the elastomer
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strand in a wedge-like manner. The cutting edge of the
cutting wedge may be moved past the base acting as an
anvil, a minimum distance s of the cutting wedge from
the base being in particular 10 pm s 2 mm,
preferably 50 pm s 1 mm, more preferably 150 pm s
700 pm and particularly preferably 300 pm s 500
pm. During the movement of the cutting wedge past the
base, the cutting edge is in particular not
substantially parallel to the surface of the base but
angled in relation to the surface of the base, so that
an angle bisector taken through the cutting edge is
angled with respect to the surface of the base
preferably by an angle a of 15 a 90 , in
particular 30 a 60 , more preferably 40 5_ a 550
and particularly preferably 45 a 5_ 50 . The
cutting
off of the elastomer, for example by single-edged wedge
cutting, takes place in this case by means of one
cutting edge, and consequently without an opposing
edge, whereby the maintenance costs for a second
cutting edge can be avoided. The fact that evasion of
the elastomer can be avoided as a result of the
surface-area contact by way of the rake face during the
compressing of the elastomer means that it is possible
to achieve particularly small layer thicknesses of the
pieces that are cut off from the elastomer, whereby a
particularly large specific surface area, that is to
say outer area per unit weight, is obtained for the
disintegrated elastomer. The method is suitable in
particular for disintegrating a latex strand of butyl
rubber or chloroprene rubber, in order for example to
be able to produce a latex-based adhesive. Furthermore,
it is possible to disintegrate more than one elastomer
strand at the same time, in that for example two or
more elastomer strands are fed next to one another to
the same cutting wedge of the cutting tool. If two or
more elastomer strands are fed in, the disintegration
capacity can be increased correspondingly.
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The movements of the elastomer and the movement of the
cutting wedge are preferably adapted to one another in
such a way that slices that are cut off from the
elastomer have a thickness t of t 1.5 mm, in
particular t 1.2 mm, preferably t 1.0 mm and
particularly preferably t 0.8 mm. On
account of the
particularly slender thicknesses of the pieces that are
cut off from the elastomer, a correspondingly large
specific surface area is obtained for the pieces cut
off from the elastomer. The slices that are cut off
have in particular a minimum thickness t of t 0.2 mm,
preferably t 0.4 mm and particularly preferably t
0.6 mm, in order to facilitate the handling of the
slices that are cut off from the elastomer as bulk
material.
In a preferred embodiment, the elastomer has a cut end
facing the cutting tool, an oscillation between a
bottom dead center, assigned to the base, and a top
dead center, remote from the base, being imparted to
the cut end of the elastomer by the cutting of the
cutting tool, and the cutting wedge contacting the
elastomer substantially whenever the cut end is
substantially at the top dead center. The oscillation
of the cut end of the elastomer, in particular the
amplitude of the oscillation, may be dependent on the
distance of the cut end of the elastomer from the
nearest clamping or fixing of the elastomer, for
example of a conveying roller. As a result, it may be
that the oscillation of the cut end, in particular the
amplitude, can be influenced by the arrangement and/or
configuration of the roller for the conveyance of the
elastomer, for example a roller arranged directly at
the cutting tool and/or the cut end being able to bring
about a smaller amplitude of the cut end than a roller
further away from the cutting tool and/or the cut end.
The distance of the roller from the cut end and/or
cutting tool is in this case substantially dependent on
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the diameter of the roller. In particular, the contact
of the cutting wedge with the elastomer takes place
with respect to the top dead center of the cut end with
a phase shift y of p 15 , in particular p 8 and
particularly preferably y 2 . The fact
that the rake
face of the cutting wedge contacts the elastomer
substantially at the top dead center of the imparted up
and down oscillation means that initially only small
forces are exerted by the rake face on the elastomer,
avoiding evasion of the elastomer. Compressing of the
elastomer only takes place to a comparatively slight
extent, if at all. As soon as the elastomer comes into
contact with the base at the bottom dead center, an
abutment, acting for example as an anvil against which
the elastomer can be pressed by the cutting wedge in
order to compress the elastomer, is formed by the base.
The compressing of the elastomer and the cutting of the
elastomer can then take place in a particularly short
time period, so that substantially no blockages and/or
longitudinal oscillations occur even with a
continuously fed elastomer. Since the actual cutting
only takes place in a particularly short time interval,
a straight uniform cut is obtained. This makes it
possible to produce the slices that are cut off from
the elastomer with a uniform consistent quality over a
relatively long time period. This makes it easier to
maintain required product qualities with respect to the
specific surface area of the pieces that are cut off
from the elastomer at low cost.
Preferably, an angle a between the rake face and the
base at the point in time of the beginning of the
contact of the cutting wedge and the elastomer is 150
a 40 , in particular 20 a 35 and
preferably 25
a 30 . With such an
angle a, a substantially
parallel alignment of the rake face with the contacted
surface of the elastomer is obtained when the rake face
first comes into contact with the elastomer. This takes
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into account in particular the fact that, on account of
its own elasticity, the elastomer has sprung up from
the base after a prior cutting operation. If the
cutting tool is operated in a rotary manner, the center
point of the rotary movement can be chosen particularly
easily such that a rolling movement of the cutting
wedge on the elastomer causes the cutting edge to be in
substantially exclusive contact with the elastomer
exactly at the intended beginning of the actual cutting
process.
The cutting of the elastomer with the aid of the
cutting edge preferably commences at a pressure p below
a pressure Pk for the beginning of strain
crystallizations of the elastomer, where in particular
0.20 p/pk 0.95, preferably 0.50 5 p/pk 0.90, more
preferably 0.6 5 p/pk 5 0.85 and particularly preferably
0.7 p/pk 0.80. As a
result, a strain crystallization
of the elastomer that could change the product
properties of the pieces that are cut off is reliably
avoided. At the same time, it is possible to compress
the elastomer with the aid of the rigid rake face to a
pressure just below the strain crystallization, which
makes a particularly high frictional force possible and
also prevents an elastic evasive movement of the
elastomer in the case of particularly small layer
thicknesses. This makes it possible in the actual
cutting process for particularly slender slices to be
cut off cleanly from the elastomer with the aid of the
cutting edge of the cutting wedge.
The rake face of the cutting wedge comes into contact
with the elastomer particularly preferably on a
peripheral surface of the elastomer. Contact of the
cutting wedge with an end face of the elastomer facing
the cutting tool is thereby avoided. This ensures that
the chips that are cut off from the elastomer are
substantially pieces in the form of slices with a
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constant layer thickness and no irregularly cut-off
corners.
In particular, the cutting edges of two successive
cutting wedges are at a distance D, where, with respect
to an effective diameter d of the elastomer, the
distance D is 1.0 D/d 8.0, in particular 1.5 D/d
6.0, preferably 2.0 D/d 4.0 and
particularly
preferably D/d = 3.0 0.5. This ensures that, with a
moderate advancing rate for the elastomer in relation
to the cutting tool, sufficient material of the
elastomer gets between the cutting edges of two
successive cutting wedges in order to make a clean cut
possible. At the same time, it is possible to provide a
sufficiently large space between two successive cutting
wedges to be able to transport away from the elastomer
the piece that is cut off from the elastomer. It may in
this case be possible for the advancing rate of the
elastomer to be synchronized with the rotational speed
of for example a rotating cutting tool in dependence on
the material properties of the elastomer, in particular
the elasticity.
In particular, the cutting edge of the cutting wedge
has a circumferential speed v of 1.0 m/s v 50.0
m/s, in particular 10.0 m/s v 35.0 m/s,
preferably
20.0 m/s v 30.0 m/s
and particularly preferably
25.0 m/s v 27.0 m/s.
The circumferential speed
corresponds substantially to the cutting speed when
cutting a piece from the elastomer and is chosen such
that, while taking into account the elasticity of the
elastomer, cutting of the elastomer can take place
without any major problems. On account of the
elasticity of the elastomer, the elastomer has a
recovery, measured in accordance with DIN 53518, of in
particular 30%, preferably 25%, more
preferably
20% and particularly preferably 15%.
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Particularly preferably, the cutting tool rotates about
a center point, the center point being offset in
relation to a center line of the elastomer
substantially perpendicularly to the direction of
movement of the elastomer by a distance s, where in
particular the distance s with respect to the effective
diameter d of the elastomer is 0.4 s/d 1.0,
preferably 0.45 s/d 0.6 and
particularly preferably
0.5 s/d 0.55. The
fact that the center point of the
rotating cutting tool is arranged off-center in
relation to the elastomer, in particular of a twisted
elastomer strand of chloroprene rubber, means that it
is easier to achieve the effect that the cutting wedge
exerts a force on the elastomer initially only with its
rake face and only later with a cutting edge. The
cutting tool is in particular offset by the distance s
counter to the direction of gravitational force. This
creates additional space below the cutting tool in the
direction of gravitational force to allow the pieces
that are cut off from the elastomer to be transported
away from the elastomer.
The rake face is preferably inclined in the
circumferential direction by an angle p in relation to
a radius of the cutting tool running through the
cutting edge, where in particular 20 p 40 ,
preferably 25 p 35 and
particularly preferably p =
300 2.5 . The inclination of the rake face allows a
suitable rolling movement of the cutting wedge on the
elastomer to be set.
Particularly preferably, an elastomer film, in
particular chloroprene rubber, is twisted into a strand
before the cutting. The twisting of the elastomer film
provides the resultant strand with sufficiently high
strength in order that individual pieces can be cut off
from the strand.
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The invention also relates to a disintegrator for
disintegrating an elastomer, in particular an elastomer
strand, which is suitable in particular for carrying
out the method described above. The disintegrator has a
cutting tool for cutting off slices from the elastomer,
the cutting unit having a cutting wedge with a cutting
edge and a rake face adjoining the cutting edge. The
disintegrator also has an advancing device for moving
the elastomer over a base toward the cutting unit.
According to the invention, the advancement of the
advancing device and the geometry of the cutting tool
are made to match one another in such a way that, once
the cutting wedge comes into contact with the
elastomer, the elastomer is intially at least partially
compressed only by the rake face between the rake face
and the base, before the cutting edge cuts through the
elastomer. The base may take the form of a fixed
mounting on one side, for example in the form of a
sliding plate, for the feeding of the elastomer. For
example in the case of single-edged wedge cutting of
the elastomer by the cutting edge of the cutting wedge,
the base may be formed as an anvil. The fact that the
elastomer is initially compressed by way of the rake
face, which has a larger surface area in comparison
with the cutting edge, means that an elastic evasive
movement of the elastomer is avoided, so that
particularly thin slices can be cut off from the
elastomer and a particularly large specific surface
area is obtained for the pieces that are cut off from
the elastomer. In particular, the advantages that can
be achieved on the basis of the method described above
can be achieved with the aid of the disintegrator. The
disintegrator may in particular be formed and developed
in the way described above on the basis of the method.
The disintegrator is suitable in particular for
disintegrating a latex strand of butyl rubber or
chloroprene rubber, in order for example to be able to
produce a latex-based adhesive.
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In particular, the position of the cutting tool in
relation to the base can be set with the aid of at
least one adjusting device. With the aid of the
adjusting device, the position of the cutting tool in
the vertical direction and/or horizontal direction can
be set in particular, whereby it is possible to adapt
the compressing and cutting movement of the cutting
wedge in dependence on the elasticity and effective
diameter of the elastomer. The adjusting device may for
example have a fastening plate which is connected to
the base and/or to the cutting tool and has at least
one slot, so that, with the aid of screws, the base
and/or the cutting tool can be fixed in various
positions in a way corresponding to the configuration
of the slot.
Particularly preferably, the cutting tool is rotatably
mounted and in particular provided with exchangeable
cutting wedges. The cutting wedges may for example be
configured as exchangeable inserts, which can be
quickly exchanged and can be detachably connected to
the cutting tool. The cutting wedges may in particular
be exchangeably screwed to the cutting tool.
The invention also relates to an elastomer slice which
can be produced from chloroprene rubber and has a
thickness t of t 5_ 1.5 mm, in particular t 1.2 mm,
preferably t 1.0 mm and particularly preferably t
0.8 mm. The particularly slender thickness t produces a
correspondingly large specific surface area for the
elastomer slice, which can for example facilitate and
accelerate dissolution of the elastomer slice in a
solvent, in particular for the production of an
adhesive. The elastomer slice has in particular a
minimum thickness t of t 0.2 mm, preferably t 0.4
mm and particularly preferably t 0.6 mm, in
order to
facilitate the handling of the elastomer slice as bulk
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material. The elastomer slice can preferably be
produced by the method described above. In particular,
the elastomer slice can be produced with the aid of the
disintegrator described above. The elastomer slice may
in particular be formed and developed in the way
described above on the basis of the method and the
disintegrator. In particular, the elastomer slice that
can be produced from a twisted strand of chloroprene
rubber has a density p of p = 1.23 g/cm3 0.02 g/cm3.
The elastomer slice is in particular formed as a
substantially circular-cylindrical slice, the elastomer
slice having in particular a diameter d of 1.0 cm ._. d
10.0 cm, preferably 2.0 cm 5_ d 7.0 cm,
more
preferably 2.5 cm 5_ d 4.0 cm and
particularly
preferably d = 3.0 cm 0.3 cm.
In the case of a thickness t = 1.0 mm, the elastomer
slice preferably has a mass-related specific surface
area Sm of Sm = 1.73 m2/kg 0.2 m2/kg. In the case of a
thickness t = 2.0 mm, a corresponding elastomer slice
may have a mass-related specific surface area Sm of Sm =-
0.92 m2/kg. In the case of a thickness t = 4.0 mm, a
corresponding elastomer slice may have a mass-related
specific surface area Sm of Sm = 0.51 m2/kg, while a
corresponding elastomer slice with a thickness of t =
8.0 mm would merely have a mass-related specific
surface area Sm of Sm = 0.31 m2/kg. In comparison with
an elastomer slice with a thickness of t = 4.0 mm, the
mass-related specific surface area Sm of the elastomer
slice according to the invention in the case of a
thickness of t = 1.0 mm is in any case about 3.4 times
greater and, in comparison with an elastomer slice with
a thickness of t = 8.0 mm, the mass-related specific
surface area Sm of the elastomer slice according to the
invention in the case of a thickness of t = 1.0 mm is
even about 5.5 times greater. The mass-related specific
surface area Sm is determined in particular according to
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DIN ISO 9277:2003-05 Determination of the specific
surface area of solids by gas adsorption using the BET
method (ISO 9277:1995).
The invention is explained in more detail below with
reference to the appended drawings on the basis of a
preferred exemplary embodiment.
In the drawings:
Figure 1 shows a schematic sectional view of a
disintegrator;
Figure 2 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a first
position;
Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a second
position;
Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a third
position;
Figure 5 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a fourth
position;
Figure 6 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a fifth
position; and
Figure 7 shows a schematic view of a detail of the
disintegrator from Figure 1 in a sixth
position.
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The disintegrator 10 that is partially represented in
Figure 1 has a rotating cutting tool 12, to the
circumference of which multiple cutting wedges 14 in
the form of exchangeable inserts are attached. With the
aid of an advancing device 16, an elastomer 20 (not
represented) can be moved by way of an advancing
element in the form of a driven roller 18 over a base
22 toward the cutting tool 12. The roller 18 may have
in particular radially outwardly protruding teeth,
which can press themselves somewhat into the elastomer
to be disintegrated, in order that the elastomer does
not unintentionally slip backward during the
disintegration. The base 22 can be adjusted in height
with the aid of screwed connections 24. The pieces that
are cut off from the elastomer 20 may be directed by
way of a ramp 26, for example to a collecting container
(not represented).
As represented in Figure 2, at the beginning of the
cutting operation, a cut end 28 of the elastomer 20
facing the cutting tool 12 is located at a top dead
center, which is located substantially at the maximum
distance away from the base 22. A rake face 32 of the
cutting wedge 20 adjoining a cutting edge 30 is
substantially parallel to a peripheral surface 34 of
the elastomer 20 in the upper region of the cut end 28.
As represented in Figure 3, the rake face 32 makes
substantially surface area contact with the peripheral
surface 34 of the elastomer 20 located at the top dead
center. As represented in Figure 4, the elastomer 20 is
pressed by the rake face 32 of the cutting wedge 40
downward onto the base 20. As represented in Figure 5,
in this case the elastomer 20 may be already
compressed. As represented in Figure 6, at the moment
when the compressed elastomer 20 arrives at the base
22, substantially only the cutting edge 30 can be in
contact with the elastomer 20. As represented in Figure
7, after that the actual cutting takes place, by which
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a piece in the form of a slice is cut off from the
elastomer 20. Since the elastomer is continuously
replenished by the advancing device 16, in the
situation represented in Figure 7 the elastomer may
already be pressing with its peripheral surface against
the cutting wedge 14 with some force and, after the
cutting off of the piece in the form of a slice, spring
upward until the cut end 28 has again reached the top
dead center. The next cutting wedge 14 can subsequently
repeat the cutting process that is represented in
Figures 2 to 7.
